Ever After
by gibbonsarenotmonkeys
Summary: Following the events of Advent Children, Cloud and Tifa try to find some semblence of a normal life. However, it seems like it's not meant to be, with yet another psycho coming at them with another insane scheme. [Tifa's POV. Cloti. M for sexiness.]
1. Chapter 1

Ever After

Tifa's Story

-Takes place following Advent Children. I haven't played the other games that follow, so forgive me for any blatant mistakes.-

By Racxiam

Teeth scraped the sensitive skin at the nape of Tifa's neck harshly, and she squealed, half in pain, and half in...was it delight, or delirium? Either way, this seemingly innocent noise illicited a deep-throated growl from the blonde pressing down on her, and the next thing she knew, her lips were being crushed by his, and she was being half-lifted off the bed as he struggled to remove her scrap of a dress. Her fingers tangled in his hair, and not even the sound of tearing fabric -_impatient much?_- could bring her to draw back from the heated kiss, the feeling of his bare, sweat-dampened skin pressing down on her, his calloused fingers combing her scalp, she squeezed her eyes shut tight, ready to scream his name-

**BREEEEEP-BREEEP-BREEEEP-BREEEP- BREEE-**

Tifa slapped her hand down on the snooze button with a wearied groan, and squeezed her eyes shut tight, trying for just a few more moments' rest before she had to begin the day. She gave up with a mournful sigh a moment later, when she realized there was no going back to the place she'd been a moment ago; but where was that place? In Cloud's arms? Another sigh, and she raked her hands back through her hair, feeling the thin layer of sweat that coated her body clearer with every passing moment. She told herself she was being ridiculous, and grabbed her robe off the back of her bedroom door before she walked down the hall, looking forward to a nice, refreshing, **cold **shower.

This was the sixth time she'd dreamt about him in the last few weeks, which was crazy since she hadn't actually seen him in about a month now. He'd left shortly after they'd beat those crazed brothers -Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo- and hadn't returned yet...although he had started answering his phone, which was nice. Still, she hadn't had dreams like this since she was a hormone-driven teenager, and even then, they'd **never** been about Cloud. He was just that loner boy who made her a fanciful promise on the water tower one night, so long ago. At the time, she hadn't paid much attention to it; it wasn't until they met up in AVALANCHE, years later, that Tifa really began to notice him. But still...these dreams...they felt so real! She checked her neck in the mirror before stepping into the shower, and was actually surprised not to see raw scratch marks where she'd felt his canines drag across her skin. She sighed, it was a dream. _Get over it, Lockhart. You're losing it. _

* * *

Once she'd finished her shower, Tifa yawned and tied her damp hair back with a ponytail, and headed down the hall, pausing at the first door and quirking an eyebrow to find that the light was already peeking out from under the door, and she could hear a distinctly childish humming coming from within. "Marlene?" She called through the door, taking the doorknob in her hand and pushing the door open slowly. 

"Tifa! Finally!" The little girl exclaimed, and hopped to her feet, hurrying over to Tifa with a hairbrush in her hand. Her light brown hair hung in slightly curly waves around her face, and she looked up at Tifa expectantly. Tifa took the hairbrush, but looked down at her blankly. Marlene sighed. "You promised you'd do my hair special today, Tifa! Don't tell me you forgot!"

"Of course not!" Tifa exclaimed as realisation hit her like a runaway truck. Marlene nodded, and crossed the room back to the dresser, and she stood on the stool that allowed her enough height to actually see herself in the mirror positioned above it. With a smile, Tifa got behind her, and within minutes, Marlene's hair was twisted atop her head in two cute little buns, each tied with a pink ribbon. "You like?" Tifa asked, looking over her shoulder, and after eying herself in the mirror critically for a moment, she nodded vigorously.

"Yes! I love it! Thank you, Tifa!" She squeaked and spun around to hug Tifa, before she hopped off her stool and dashed off, leaving Tifa to smile in her wake. Well, at least someone was cheerful this morning. Yawning, Tifa went to the next room in the hallway, and knocked on the door softly.

"Denzel?" She called through the door. "Are you up yet?" She knocked again, and when she got no response, she pushed the door open and stepped forth into the darkness. She blinked to let her eyes adjust, then picked her way through the littered fragments of toys and clothes to Denzel's bedside, where she crouched down. Sure enough, the brunette boy was still sound asleep, his curly hair falling into his eyes, one arm hanging off the bed. She shook his shoulder gently. "Time to get up, Denzel." She muttered, and gave his shoulder another shake.

"Don't wanna..." Denzel's eyes squeezed more tightly shut, and Tifa smiled, knowing he was awake.

"Be downstairs in fifteen or else you won't be getting any breakfast, and you'll have to go to your first day of school in your pyjamas." She warned, before she stood up and headed for the stairs. As she passed the bathroom, she noticed the light was on in it, and she could hear that same childish humming again. She just smiled to herself andheaded downstairs, deciding between bacon and eggs or pancakes and waffles for their first ever day of school.

It had been an effort, building a school house in the town of Edge, and everyone had to contribute, but everyone(the kids excluded) had agreed that they needed to start educating the kids again, since it had been two years since the fall of Midgar and no school was in place yet. Marlene was ecstatic, absolutely thrilled with the prospect of learning, but then, she was just in Kindergarten. Denzel grumbled about how he'd rather help out in the bar, but Tifa would hear none of that -these kids would have the education she'd never gotten, and that was that. Even if she had to tie Denzel up and drag him there by force.

As she neared the bottom of the stairs, she slowed. Was that a flicker of movement in the kitchen? Marlene was in the bathroom...no way had Denzel beat her downstairs...so that meant it had to be an intruder. Her brow settled into a scowl, she figured every thief in town knew better than to come here, to the home of former AVALANCHE-ers Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart. Well, maybe he wasn't local. She curled her hands into fists, and stealthily came down the stairs, keeping to the shadows. Light spilled halfway across the kitchen, and Tifa peeked around the corner to see the intruder...rummaging through the fridge? What kind of a burglar stole FOOD? That was just wrong on so many levels. No way was he getting away with this, Tifa thought, as she prepared herself to attack the shadowy figure. Finally, when he straightened up and closed the fridge, Tifa knew it was her time to strike, and she pounced with lightning speed. It wasn't until she already had the intruder pinned to the floor, hand poised above her head for a throat-crushing blow, that she tuned into the voice of the one she had pinned -and swore to herself.

"...it's me, Tifa! Jesus, it's Cloud!" In her moment of confusion, no doubt fearing for his life, Cloud clutched her shoulders in his hands and turned her over, so that he was the one holding her down. Color flooded her cheeks as memories of her dream from last night came skittering back, the sound of her own moans loud in her ears, before she shoved both them, and Cloud, away from her.

"Omigosh I'm so sorry Cloud!" She exclaimed, blushing as she scrambled to her feet and realized that she was soaking wet. She walked over to the light switch near the door and flicked it on, to reveal that both she and Cloud were now wearing what seemed to be the entire contents of a jug of pulp-free orange juice. Testiment to this fact was the empty plastic container, lying on its side under the table. She sighed, and looked from her own ruined clothes to Cloud's.

"I'll clean up the kitchen if you'll do the laundry." Cloud offered, already peeling off his shirt to reveal washboard abs, damp from the orange juice and glistening in the fluorescent kitchen lights. Tifa gaped for a moment, but recovered before he pulled the shirt all the way off and went over to the counter, putting on a pot of coffee to distract herself. She started to speak before she turned around, but when she did, it was to drop the mug she was holding, letting it clatter across the floor loudly. Thank goodness they still hadn't gotten around to buying the ceramic dishes.

"Yeah, okay...go get chan-Cloud!" Tifa's voice changed to a squeal as the blonde tossed his shirt at her and began unzipping his pants, her face turning six shades of red as he looked up at her.

"What?" He asked, all innocence, and Tifa rolled her eyes and stomped over to him, seized his wrist and proceeded to drag him up the stairs, only stopping to shove him into his own room and slam the door behind him.

"Men." She sighed, then went into the bathroom and proceeded to take another shower...only it didn't need to be cold, this time around.

Ten minutes later, Tifa was throwing her and Cloud's clothing into a stain-removal solution to soak for a little while, before she climbed back up to the main floor to make breakfast. Cloud was scrubbing the floor(thankfully fully clothed), and she headed to the fridge to get breakfast started. She had justed pulled out the eggs and bacon when Cloud sat upright and looked at her.

"Hell of a way to welcome me back." He commented, and she could _hear _the smirk on his face, it was so obvious. She cracked a few eggs into a clean pan and set the bacon to fry before she turned around to look at him, smiling pleasantly.

"Welcome home, Cloud. Did you have a nice trip? Plenty of breaking and entering, or did you save that for your grand return?" She teased, leaning back on the counter as she looked down at him, sitting with his legs stretched out on the floor. He'd changed into a pair of jeans and a white muscle-shirt that showed off his muscular arms, and even let one see the outline of the perfectly formed muscles beneath it...not that Tifa cared about that. Cloud was her friend, nothing more. Telling herself that, she spun around and poked at the simmering food with a spatula.

"I didn't break in. I have a key." He pointed out, and Tifa gave him a look over her shoulder.

"You could have told me you were back." She told him pointedly, and he just shrugged.

"It was late, and you were sleeping so peacefully." He explained, and Tifa looked back to the bacon, the ramifications of what he'd said not hitting her until a moment later, when she spun around, holding her spatula like an accusatory pointer, and took a menacing step towards him.

"How would you know how I was sleeping?" She asked, a slightly panicked tone to her voice. You see, ever since she was a child, Tifa had talked in her sleep. Her friends used to bug her about it when they had sleepovers, and she'd even once woken Yuffie up with her ramblings; the ninja was a light sleeper. She was a quiet talker, so it didn't matter much while they were traveling, but if Cloud was actually awake...with the dreams she'd been having last night, Tifa was sure she didn't want him to hear her! Cloud smirked at her.

"I was just checking up on you." He held his hands up defensively. "And Marlene, and Denzel." He added, then frowned. "I wanted to see that you were all okay." Tifa sighed, it didn't seem like he'd heard anything...incriminating. "It's not like I broke into your room to molest you or something."

Tifa rolled her eyes, and returned to her cooking. "Fine...but for future reference, I'd prefer it if you didn't come into my room to watch me sleep, okay? Just wake me up next time."

She heard Cloud stand up but didn't bother to turn around. "All right, I guess that's fair..." he agreed, and Tifa sighed with relief. At least he wasn't going to be difficult. "Oh, I like your night-gown, by the way." He added, and Tifa blinked for a moment, as she tried to remember what she'd been sleeping in last night...she didn't have any actual sleepwear, so she tended to wear whatever happened to be lying around. She heard the door that lead to the bar swing closed before she remembered.

Last night, she'd been doing laundry until late, to make sure the kids' clothes were clean in time for school. Since there wasn't much to do, she'd grabbed what she'd found on the floor of Cloud's bedroom too, in an attempt to save some water, and be nice to Cloud. By the time she'd finished, she was really tired, so she just grabbed something that looked big enough to fit her, without realizing it was one of Cloud's old shirts. It was probably still lying on her bathroom floor right now. "Shit!" She swore, well, at least now she knew why she was dreaming about Cloud...did clothes really perpetuate sexual fantasies of their owner? Gaia, that was a scary thought. She shivered to think about it. Maybe she'd explain to Cloud later...or she'd commit ritual suicide on the roof. Either way, she figured it was a decent plan. She flipped the baconjust as footsteps came downstairs, andthe chattering of two miniscule AVALANCHE-ers reached her ears, and she smiled.

She divided the food in four equal portions amongst the four plates, knowing that whatever the kids didn't eat Cloud would finish off, and then he'd probably bug Tifa for more besides. She set out four places at the table and was just pouring out two mugs of blacker-than-black sear-your-nosehairs-off coffee(Tifa liked it strong) when Cloud re-entered the bar, sat down, and they all enjoyed a nice, quiet breakfast together.

Well, after Denzel and Marlene were done squealing and tackling Cloud at random...a bit funny, that. Tifa leaned back in her chair, inhaling the scent of her coffee contentedly...aah, this was the life.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Midgar, a man in a painstakingly pressed white lab coat was watching the exchange of familial love on several different blurry screens, paying particular attention to Cloud and Tifa as he did so. A smile curved on his pointed, weaselly face, and a cold, hight-pitched shriek of a laugh escaped from his throat in a most maniacal fashion. "Not much longer now, my dear, you won't have to wait too much more." He cooed to a slimy tentacle, suspended in a vat of glowing green goo next to him, in a way that one whispered sweet nothings to a lover. Soon..."

* * *

A/N: Umm..yeah. Tell me what you thought, pretty please with sugar and ice cream? This is just the first chapter, there will be more to come! "Soon..." -Insert maniacal laughter here- 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I didn't put this in the first chapter cause I forgot, but since I don't think any of you are mistaking me for a Square Enix Exec, I'm too lazy to edit. FFVII & all related characters do not belong to me.

Chapter 2:

"Marlene, you have to let go." Tifa was amazed by how statuesque and immovable Cloud could be, even in the face of such unrelenting cuteness. Still, he stoically maintained his position, trying to shake the miniscule parasite off his leg, while calmly telling her to get off. "You have to go to school."

They were standing outside the newly-built school gates, and already other children were rushing inside, excited, or, like Denzel, they trudged along, snail-like, to delay the moment they'd have to learn. Tifa sighed, and knelt down next to Cloud so she could gently try and pry the little girl off. It was no good...She had a good grip, that one.

"But you were so excited to go this morning..." Tifa cajoled, Marlene had been bouncy right up until they'd left the bar, and she seemed to realize that she wasn't going to be able to spend her day at the bar with Tifa, like always.

"Yeah, but then Denzel said that-" That was where Tifa tuned out, turning her head fractionally towards the brunette boy, knowing he was watching the scene out of the corner of his eye, as she saw his ears redden under her gaze. He peeked over his shoulder, and gulped audibly when he caught sight of the glare Tifa was shooting his way, not quite murderous, but still something that hinted at punishment at a later date. She sighed and turned back to where Marlene was burying her face into Cloud's leg determinedly, refusing to look elsewhere. Tifa looked up at Cloud, and shrugged.

"But we told you all about all the fun stuff you can do once you start at school, Marlene! Art projects, and presentations, and you'll get to play with all the other kids, too!" She purposely left out the unpleasant bits, like math and studying and hard work, because they didn't need to discourage her any more than Denzel apparently already had.

"But if I go to school I can't spend the day with you..." Tifa detected a hint of deception there, not intentional, just like...she'd left something off, something she'd meant to say. When the little girls' head tilted up slightly, Tifa followed her gaze, and had an inkling of what the real problem might be.

"Cloud promises to stay at least until you get home from school." Tifa told her with a grin, and winked at Cloud when he looked down at her quizzically. Marlene shook her head and buried her face into his leg once again.

"Sure, but then what about later? He's gotta leave again, and then I'll have wasted time that we could be a family during." She pouted, and Tifa found she had no response...in fact, she found her eyes making their way from the little girl to the man she was clinging to, as if to ask him what he had to say to that, but after meeting his mako blue eyes for only a few seconds, she tore hers away as if she been burned, and rubbed Marlene's back soothingly.

"You know that Cloud is doing his best, and he can't always be around..." Her voice was purposely quiet, and she tried to sound as sincere as she could. The truth of the matter was, when Cloud went away, Tifa missed him just as much as the kids did. Maybe more...she just didn't have to guts to attach herself to his leg and make him stay home.

"Marlene..." Tifa was surprised to hear Cloud, although she had no right to be; the conversation was pretty much centered around him. She looked up at him, and noticed that Marlene was doing the same. "How 'bout if I promise to stay around more...take less jobs that I have to leave for a long time for...Then will you go to school?" Tifa was even more surprised by this. Cloud had been traveling for the last two years, and if that was what made him happy, Tifa didn't want him to stick around just because Marlene wouldn't go to school if he didn't stay. She did want him to stay...but because he was happy here.

"Really?" Marlene's grip slackened slightly, and her smile at Cloud was brighter than sunshine, and Tifa couldn't help but smile a little. "You swear?" She let him go, and held up her hand, pinky extended. Cloud bent over and hooked his pinky with hers, letting her give it a vigorous shake before she pulled her hand back.

"I swear." He smiled, and Marlene smiled happily. She gave a quick nod of her head, and turning towards the school without a hint of the hesitation she'd had mere moments before, she ran to catch up to Denzel, who was nearly to the school door, even with his impossibly slow gait. Tifa stood up slowly, watching her go with a smile on her face, and once the pair had disappeared into the school, she turned to Cloud, smiled brightly, then balled her hand into a fist and punched him on the arm, hard. Okay, maybe not as hard as she could have, but she was going for bruises, not broken bones. "OW! Tifa! What the hell?!"

"You can't lie to her, Cloud! Now it'll just hurt twice as much when you leave again!" She noticed how she didn't mention who it would hurt more. She folded her arms over her chest and glared at him angrily, smile replaced by cold fury.

"Geez, Tifa, who says I was lying? How do you know I didn't mean it?" He replied, rubbing his arm and eyeing her with suspicion. That had hurt, but he knew that was nothing compared to what she could've done...he shuddered to think. The fury in her eyes only seemed to intensify when he said this, and he knew he had precious little time to diffuse the situation before he was being carted off to the hospital with severe injuries. "I-I've been thinking of maybe hanging around some more, now that the kids are starting school and all..." Her fury decreased, but now she just looked at him with an angry sort of disbelief.

"Cloud, you leave because you like being on your own, and if you hang around when that's not what you want to do, you'll only get bored and go away for even longer." That was what she believed...she knew the reaosn why he went away was because he was still feeling guilty, and maybe living a regular life reminded him too much of what others had lost; she wasn't quite sure where he got this reasoning, but she could live with it, if she had to, as long as he came back once in a while, at least.

"That's not true." Tifa was taken aback by his response, the flash in his eyes when he spoke, so suddenly and sharply, and then he frowned. "I meant it, okay?" He dropped his eyes again, and before she could ask about this sudden change of heart, he turned away and starting walk back to the bar. "Which means I'll have to rearrange some things with work, so we better get back." He didn't even turn to look at her, just kept walking away, hands in his pockets, just expecting her to follow along...like she always did.

Well, today was going to be different. Today, Tifa would hold her head high and proudly march in a different direction, not follow that stupid spiky-headed jerk around like a puppy dog. Today...she had grocery shopping to do. By the time Cloud did turn around to see if she was following(because no way could Tifa keep quiet for that long and something not be wrong), Tifa was halfway down the street in the opposite direction. He blinked once, then twice. Didn't she know where her own bar was?

"TEEF! YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!" He cupped his mouth and hollered at her, and she turned to look over her shoulder at him, and...did she just stick her tongue out at him? What the hell!

"NO, Riverby's is THIS WAY!" She called back, pointing. Riverby's? Oh, yeah, that new massive supermarket they'd put in a few weeks ago...was that place open already? Wow, time sure flies when you aren't around. "I'LL SEE YOU AT THE BAR WHEN I'M DONE!" She waved, and disappeared around a corner. Cloud shook his head and sighed.

"Grocery shopping...? What's next...washing dishes?" Oh, wait, he already did that. "I saved the world, doesn't that get me some slack? Shouldn't I get some gratitude and servitude, here?" And yes, how the mighty had fallen, because that was Cloud Strife, muttering to the air as he sulked down the street.

--

Tifa was still laughing when she stepped over the threshold of the grocery store, the doors sliding open before her to allow admittance. She grabbed a cart and wiped a tear, forced from her eye by the strength of her laughter, from her cheek, doing her best to burn the incredulous expression on Cloud's face into her memory for the rest of her life. That wasn't something you saw everyday, even if you happened to see Cloud everyday(which no one did), and she was just glad she had been around to bear witness to the occasion.

Still trying to quiet her giggles, she began her rounds of the grocery store, grabbing what food and daily supplies they'd need for a while. The stuff for the bar was delivered en masse, but unfortunately, she still had to shop for the stuff her little family needed. And so the tumdrum of daily life continued. Boring as it sometimes was, though, Tifa still preferred it to the ways of the adventurer...never knowing what was around the corner, or what was going to happen to you or your friends, that was much too terrifying for her.

Tifa was so lost in thought as she pushed her cart around the corner, that she didn't even notice she'd run someone over until she heard a yelp and saw several apples go rolling off in every direction. Her eyes widened as she snapped back into attention,walking around her cart with an apologetic look on her face to help whoever it was she'd mowed down with her cart. And when she saw him, she did a double-take and wound up staring at him in complete and utter confusion, frowning.

"Geez! Watch where you're going la...dy..." He looked up, just as startled as Tifa was by the person standing before him, and at first he could just blink, despite the fact that he was sitting on the floor, his groceries strewn around him, his basket overturned a few feet away.

"Reno?" Tifa spoke after a moment, recovering enough to reach out a hand to help him to his feet. He took it, more out of impulse than because he had enough working function to realize she was being helpful.

"Tifa." He seemed to have recovered his cool by the time he stood up, and he cockily ran a hair back through his crimson hair, putting it back into his usual array of spiky wonder. Tifa couldn't help but think that she should definitely go into the hair gel business...between Reno and Cloud, they alone could support her endeavour. "You don't look happy to see me."

"I-I'm a little shocked. What are you doing here?"

"Well, ShinRa's setting up a new headquarters in Edge, so we're here to oversee the details." He explained, and Tifa's expression darkened slightly. It still bugged her that ShinRa wasn't behind bars for what they knowingly did to the planet, but she supposed when you had as much money as Rufus did, there wasn't a crime in the world you couldn't get away with. But life went on.

"That's great, but I really sort of meant what are you doing here...at Riverbys?" She gestured to the store they were inside of, you didn't usually expect to run into a former enemy/friend/who the hell knew at a grocery store, of all places. Maybe they were following her...?

"Ummm...grocery shopping? Turks gotta eat too." He pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her as though that were obvious. Tifa hadn't expected that at all, in actuality, she supposed she'd never considered the possibility that even her enemies needed to eat. How...weird. She looked around at the food scattered over the floor, and grabbed the upside-down shopping basket, picking stuff up and placing it back into the basket, frowning a little when Reno didn't even try to help. What, he was too goo-

"Eep!" Tifa squeaked and stood bolt upright when she felt a hand on her backside, and within a few seconds, she had Reno pinned to the glass door of the freezer by his throat. "Touch me again and die, pig." She growled, and thrust his half-filled basket back into his arms before she went back, grabbed her own cart, and stalked off, fuming. Oh, she should've expected it, but still! She tries to help him, and what does he do? He does what he always does. That was just Reno...an asshole!

--

Still fuming as she shoved cartons of milk into the fridge and boxes of cereal into the cupboards, she doesn't hear the soft pad of bare feet entering the kitchen over her furious mumblings, barely even discernable other than a trill of fury here, a squeak of indignant rage there. So when she spun around to grab the bread from the kitchen table, the last thing she expected to find was one Cloud Strife, sitting on the table and eating one of the apples she'd bought less than twenty minutes ago. Her eyes widened with surprise, and she cursed herself for not noticing; Cloud was surprising her far too much recently for her liking. She sighed and picked up the bread from next to him, wondering why he hadn't said anything yet.

"Those aren't washed yet, you know." She pointed to the fruit in his hand, and turned around to put the bread away.

"They do that at the store; it's what those shower things are for." He pointed out, and Tifa rolled her eyes, leave it to Cloud to be smart about it. "So, did something happen at the grocery store, or are you still just mad at me? Cause you didn't seem this mad when you left, but then again, you did just sorta leave me in the street." She grimaced, leave it to Cloud to be blunt as hell. "Something involving a certain red-head Turk, by any chance?" This time, when she spun around to look at him incriminatingly, he had a look of pure innocence on his face, and he took another bite from the already half-eaten apple.

"Cloud Strife, were you following me?!" Surprising even herself, Tifa managed not to yell, and her voice came out in a hiss of suppressed rage, although she couldn't help but curl her fingers into fists, ready to pummel the hero if he didn't have a good explanation. For his part, Cloud looked a little frightened, but more confused.

"What? No. You were muttering about him when I walked in, I figured it was a safe bet." His calm demeanour was doing nothing to calm the seething Tifa down, though, and she didn't feel the urge to knock his block off diminishing any. She forced her hands to loosen and she took a deep breath, deciding she really needed to stop repressing her emotions, if it was going to lead her to killing Cloud one of these days. "So you did see him? What did he do?"

The smug look in his eyes was enough to make Tifa want to kill him all over again. With a narrowing of her eyes, she waved at the groceries on the table. "Finish putting the groceries away, would you?" It sounded like a question, but they both knew that it was an order, and Cloud was too fond of his health to argue it. He hopped down off the table and set about to putting the groceries away, and later Tifa would discover everything was in the wrong place, but for now, she didn't care. She was going for a walk, and heaven help any man who pissed her off now. "And pick Marlene and Denzel up from school at three!" She poked her head back through the door to yell at him as an afterthought. She did everything around here...he could at least pick up the kids from school.

* * *

A/N: Soo...what'd you think? Reviews and honest critiques of all varieties are welcomed! 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Nope, still not on Squenix's payroll. Working on it, tho.

Chapter 3:

It was a nice day for a walk, Tifa was happy to report. The sun was shining brightly overhead, but a light breeze kept her from overheating as she strolled along the busy streets of Edge, looking over the various reconstruction projects as she went. They were finally starting to get this place looking like something other than a ruin, and with any luck, it would stop resembling the slums of Midgar over the next few years. The familiarity was nice to an extent, but it would be much nicer to live in a city that didn't look like it'd survived a nuclear war.

She turned down a street that almost looked like it had never faced the wrath of the ShinRa corporation...new shops had opened up, and colorful displays in the front windows had Tifa turning her head to look. She paused in front of a few of them, but didn't enter, until she drew to a full stop, blinking at one particularly blad display in shock.

"Zangen's School of Martial Arts," she read aloud, as if that would somehow make it seem less like she'd just strolled into the Twilight Zone. She's thought her old teacher was dead...no, he had to be. But how many Zangens could there possibly be in the world?! She was still gaping at the sign when the door swung open and someone came outside, and dimly she looked towards them with unseeing eyes.

"...Are you okay? Miss?" It was a man's voice, and shaking herself out of her reverie, she focused her eyes on him, and forced a small, reassuring smile.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that." She apologized, looking over the newcomer as though she expected Zangen to suddenly jump out of his skin and yell 'surprise!' He didn't even remotely resemble her teacher, though, with his short, light brown hair and bright baby blue eyes set in a cheerfully handsome face with a body no doubt sculpted by years of martial arts.

"Do you need a drink or something? You looked a little...out of it, there." He asked sympathetically, and Tifa shook her head, still smiling.

"Oh, no, I was just thinking." She rationalized, and it occurred to her...this man wasn't just a student of the martial arts. He had to have done it for years, to look as he did, and likely, he was qualified to teach. Maybe he was a teacher here, maybe he knew how the place got its name. It couldn't hurt to ask. "Um...do you work here?" She asked, and pointed. The stranger smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm the owner. Why, you looking for lessons?" Tifa blushed as she felt his eyes raking over her, now that he had an excuse. She supposed she should be used to this by now, but she still folded her arms over her chest before she replied.

"No, nothing like that. The name is...um, unusual."

"Yeah, well, it was the name of the man who taught me martial arts, so I thought it was fitting." He explained, and Tifa had to fight to keep her jaw from dropping. "I'm surprised that caught your eye, though."

"That's the name of the man who taught me martial arts, too! That's why I noticed." She told him, astonished that it probably was the same man. She knew Zangen had students in towns and cities all over the world, but she'd never actually met any of them before. "A wandering shishou, right? Went from town to town, teaching those who were interested, and who could afford it?" Tifa's father decided she needed something to distract her after her mother died, and after having her try every activity under the sun, Zangen finally offered the solution to his dilemma when Tifa loved martial arts.

"You can't be serious." He blinked at her, and then broke into a wide smile. "Wow, that's amazing! I never thought I'd meet anyone who knew the old coot." He laughed, and she with him, at their newfound bond. "Hey, I was just about to go to lunch. Why don't you come with me, we can reminisce, swap stories and the like?" Uncertain, Tifa considered for a moment...she really should get back soon, the kids would be done school soon, and Cloud would want-

Then another voice erupted in her mind; who cared what Cloud wanted? Obviously he didn't care what she wanted, so why not just do as she liked, for once in her life? He could look after the kids on his own for one afternoon.

"You know, that sounds like a lot of fun. I'd love to." She grinned at him.

"Great! And, oh yeah, I'm Calden. Calden Stratus." So caught up in the mystery of his dojo, Tifa had forgotten completely about introductions.

"It's nice to meet you, Christopher. I'm Tifa." She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, and nodded as he suggested a diner that apparently made the best egg salad sandwiches this side of Wutai.

"...and then, you're gonna love this, he told him that it was HIS camel!" The pair burst out into hysterical laughter, earning them the reproachful looks of the few other people situated around the diner, but it didn't stop Tifa or Calden from carrying on until their eyes watered.

"Sounds just like something he'd do." Tifa remarked, brushed a wayward tear from her eye, then taking a sip of her water.

"And did it he did. Crazy old man, he was never afraid of anything." Calden heaved a nostalgic sigh, and Tifa smiled. Zangen really had been one of a kind.

"I remember one time-" she started, but made the mistake of glancing at her watch mid-sentence, and did a double-take, eyes widening. She blinked, and looked at the clock on the wall. "Have I lost my mind, or have we actually been sitting here talking for two and a half hours?" Calden's eyes widened, and he checked his own watch.

"Well, if you are crazy, it's going around." He looked towards the waitress, "check, please." By the speed by which she slapped it down on the table, it seemed like she'd been waiting a while to do so. Tifa started to pull her wallet out of her purse, when Calden shook his head at her. "It's on me, and don't argue...you'd be threatening my masculinity."

"No, really, you don't have to-" She continued pulling out some gil, but a hand on her arm stopped her.

"You're right, I don't. I want to." She blushed, and placed her wallet back in her purse, bringing a smile out of him. "Speaking of things I want...can I see you again?" Eyes widening, Tifa found herself nodding without really thinking about it. "How's Friday night sound? Or...Saturday?" He added the second option when she didn't reply to the first.

"Evenings on the weekend don't really work well for me, I run a bar...they're our busiest days." She explained, and he nodded in understanding. "Is Wednesday okay?" She suggested, and he smiled.

"Wednesday sounds great. I'll pick you up around eight?" Tifa gave him directions to her place and they exchanged numbers before hurrying off...if she was quick, she could probably make it home in time to put together something for dinner before the kids (and Cloud) started to complain of how hungry they were. What she wasn't anticipating were the flowers. Or the chocolate. Or the crayon drawings of Cloud. Wearing a dunce cap. She was just giggling over this when Marlene poked her head through the swinging door.

"Are you still mad at Cloud?" She asked innocently, and Tifa glanced back at the drawing. Yep, definitely Marlene's handiwork. She shook her head. "CLOUD! IT'S OKAY! SHE SAYS SHE'S NOT MAD ANYMORE!" She yelled through the door, and Tifa chuckled, walking over to the fridge and securing the crayon drawing in a place of honor on the fridge, rearranging the other works of art so that they were all still visible around it. It was definitely her favorite. By the time she turned around, Cloud was leaning in the doorway, arms folded over his chest, admittedly looking a little nervous.

"Don't look so tense. I'm really not mad at you anymore." She said cheerfully, walking over to the table and picking up the vase of flowers, which of course, had no water in it. She took it over to the tap and half-filled it, smelling a pretty purple blossom as she did so. "Were the flowers your idea or Marlene's?"

"Marlene's." He said abashedly, and a smiling Tifa set the vase down in the center of the kitchen table, opening the chocolates and taking one out. "The chocolates were Denzel's idea." Tifa chuckled, taking some hot dogs out of the fridge. "Um...is there anything I can do to help?" His voice was meek, as though afraid she might explode again.

"You can set the table." She suggested, grinning as he did as he was told. Maybe she should blow up at him more often, if it made him so well behaved. But she supposed that it would lose its effect if she overdid it. She didn't notice she was humming as she filled a tray with crinkle-cut fries.

"So...to what exactly do I owe the good mood? I notice you didn't buy anything new..." She rolled her eyes. Shopping wasn't her ONLY outlet for undue stress.

"I forgot to take your credit card." She shrugged, teasing, and looked over her shoulder to smile at him. "I...met someone. Oh yeah, I need you to watch the kids on Wednesday night." She didn't notice the lack of response until after she'd finished dropping the last of the hot dogs into the pot and turned to look at Cloud, who was standing stock still, staring at her with a cocked eyebrow. She laughed. "Why are you looking at me like I just sprouted a third eye? It's not that unlikely that someone might pay attention to me."

"Oh, uh, of course not...I have a job Wednesday night." He replied, setting down the plates around the edge of the table with a clatter. Tifa frowned.

"Since when do you work nights?"

"Since the employer requested it." There wasn't a hint of emotion in his voice, and Tifa furrowed her brow...why was he being so difficult?

"Fine...I guess I'll get a sitter, then." She turned around to face the stove again, poking the cooking hot dogs with a fork.

"So who is this guy?" He asked suddenly, and Tifa looked back over her shoulder at him, then shrugged when she only saw his back.

"He's another of Zangen's former students...we got to talking, and he's a really nice guy. Interesting, funny..."

"Good-looking?" Cloud supplied. Was that a hint of anger in his voice?

"Yeah." Tifa didn't understand it...she hadn't had a date, a real date, since before Nibelheim had been burnt down. Shouldn't Cloud be happy for her? Wasn't that what friends did?

Her mind flashed back to her dreams, the ones where Cloud's hands were everywhere they would never be, but she bit her tongue to stop herself. Cloud was not jealous. He couldn't be. He'd never expressed any type of emotion for her, other than friendship, so he wasn't going to start now. He was probably just doing that annoying protective thing Barret usually had covered, and sighed. Men.

* * *

"Our plan seems to be working." A smooth, silky voice came out crackly over the aged speaker, and the scientist scoffed at it.

"Of course it is! I knew it would." He stroked a length of tentacle, coated in slimy, florescent goo, as he hissed into his microphone. "You are putting together the other necessary parts for my experiment, yes?"

"As long as you deliver your half of the agreement, we'll deliver on ours." The reply came, and the scientist cackled maniacally.

"Of course, of course...you'll have your little pet. And, ironically enough...I will have mine." The cackling continued. The disembodied voice cleared its throat.

"Don't screw this up, Professor. If you do...it may be the last thing you ever do." The line went silent, and a look of cold fury washed over the scientist's greasy face. The tentacle he'd been caressing now lifted, to touch his cheek in what seemed to be a soothing, albeit creepy, gesture. The scientist calmed down.

"Yes, my darling, you're right. We can't risk the project over these fools. First, we'll complete you...and then we'll worry about dealing with the incompetents." Yet more maniacal cackling followed.

* * *

A/N: No one has any idea how close Calden's name came to being Cumulus. -laughs hysterically-

Because love triangles are SO much fun!

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

isclaimer: If I owned FFVII, I'd be too busy pestering game developers for a demo of FFXIII to bother with writing fanfictions.

Chapter 4:

"Is it too short?" Tifa tugged on the hem of the tiny blue halter dress she was currently trying on. The tear-shaped neckline really enhanced her bustline...not that anyone had ever suggested that particular piece of her anatomy needed a lot of enhancing. It left her back bare down to the waist, and it made her legs look long...really long. Or was it just because she was showing off too much of them? "Marlene?"

The little girl looked up from where she was lying on her tummy on Tifa's bed, scribbling away on a piece of paper with her crayons. "It's nice." She returned to her doodling without a second glance. Tifa sighed...getting advice from the six year old? She had lost interest after Tifa had tossed aside the frillier items in her closet, relics of a childhood long past.

"So...want to go shopping?" Tifa turned to look over her shoulder at the little girl, who shook her head. Tifa sighed. "I'll buy you ice cream...and you can get a new dress, too, if you want."

"Ice cream?" Marlene perked up, and grinning, hopped up to her feet quickly. "Let's go!" She bounced energetically, and Tifa couldn't help but laugh.

"Let me get changed first. This is definitely not the sort of thing I want to be walking down the street in." Marlene shrugged and flounced off through the door, closing it behind her, and Tifa chuckled. Too much energy in that girl. She changed quickly, into a pair of jeans and a blue wife-beater, shaking her hair out and snatching her purse from the dresser as she headed for the door. "Marlene? Ready to go?" She called as she walked down the stairs, not sure whether the girl was upstairs or down. When she got no reply, she paused in the kitchen to listen, and sure enough, the sound of voices was coming from the backyard.

"-and Tifa said she'd get us ice cream!" Marlene was promising to Denzel, over the rattle of metal. Glancing towards the shed, Tifa saw that the doors to the shack where Cloud kept Fenrir were wide open, and Cloud was sitting on the ground next to the bike, apparently doing some work or another on the bike.

"But I'm helping Cloud with his bike!" Denzel shook his head, and clutching a bottle of motor oil to his chest, ran back over to the blonde, who finally noticed Marlene and Tifa there.

"Come on, Marlene, we'll leave the boys to play with their toys." She teased and took the little girl's hand, and had almost walked away before Cloud was at her elbow, and she nearly jumped in alarm. When had he gotten so fast? But he'd always been fast...maybe she was just getting slow? She made a mental note to pick up on her training.

"Where you going?" He asked, and Tifa raised an eyebrow at him.

"Shopping."

"You got groceries yesterday."

"I didn't say grocery shopping."

"Then whatcha buying?"

"You're like a little kid, Cloud." She chuckled, and breathed a sigh of exaggerated exasperation. "I need something to wear to dinner with Calden." Cloud's expression visibly darkened at that, and Tifa started to walk off.

"Hey Denzel, wanna go shopping?" She stopped in her tracks.

"Cloud."

"What? Marlene invited us." Cloud grinned at her as she turned to look at him, but found she couldn't argue...Marlene looked like she was about to explode with joy.

"Yeah! We'll all go shopping together! And we can get ice cream." Tifa frowned, and rolled her eyes. Stupid Cloud. The idea of trying on clothes in front of him made her stomach drop to her knees, but even worse was the thought of shattering that ecstatic smile from Marlene's face. Finally, she sighed in resignation.

"Fine, but you two go get cleaned up first. I'm not walking around with you two looking like you were involved in an oil spill."

A half an hour later found the quartet headed down main street, not far from the side street where Tifa had found Zangen's School of Martial Arts. Marlene and Denzel were walking a little ways ahead of Tifa and Cloud, laughing and chattering away, where Tifa could keep an eye on them. The walk had been relatively silent for Cloud and Tifa, the latter having found herself occupied with reading every single sign as they walked by and shrugging off any conversation laughingly. Cloud looked dangerously close to slipping into a sulk, but Tifa was doing her best not to care. She wasn't catering to Cloud any longer, and if he wanted to sulk...he could. No matter that girls were stopping on the street to stare and sigh when he got that sorrowful look in his eye...damn fangirls. Why couldn't they find their own saviors of the world to moon over?

"Hey, Teef. Isn't that the shop you wanted to go to?" Cloud had stopped, and blinking, Tifa tore her eyes away from the gaggle of girls who looked like they were about to pounce on the prime piece of man-meat next to her, and looked into the window he was stopped in front of, surprised to find that they were in front of the trendy dress store already.

"Uh, yeah...it is." She stammered, and looked to the kids, still walking away. "Why don't you take the kids for ice cream, and I'll find yo-" too late, Cloud had already stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled the high, keening note that he'd taken to using for calling the kids. Tifa crinkled her nose as the children came running.

"Nah, we said we were all going to go shopping, right? I'm sure we'll be able to survive a few hours of picking out clothes." Tifa wanted to argue, but there was a steely look in those mako eyes that stopped her. He was going to be stubborn about this. Tifa just wished she knew why.

"Fine, fine..." She pushed the boutique door open, and the shopping began.

--

"Try this one, Tifa! This one!" Marlene had picked out yet another floral print dress. This one was floor length and...surprise surprise, pink. Tifa put on her best fake smile, glancing around for some escape route. It came, surprisingly enough, in the form of a mass of black fabric thrust into her hands by no other than Cloud. He winked at her and half-pushed her back into the fitting room, and then turned around to curtail Marlene's advance. She was in shock...so far, all afternoon he'd been amused by Marlene's less-than-stylish choices, and had been trying to convince her of the glory of the most hideous, shapeless items in the store. She sighed, supposing this was yet another outfit she could picture her grandmother wearing. But Marlene would start pouting again if she didn't try something on...with a sigh, Tifa slipped off the gold dress she'd decided she didn't like the color of, and pulled the dress on over her head. With her eyes closed, she realized there was less of the dress than she'd initially thought.

Much less.

Feeling air where she thought there should be fabric, Tifa was about to yell at Cloud for bringing her something that was torn, when she opened her eyes and her breath caught in her throat, her own disbelief nearly choking her.

The dress was almost as short as the dress she'd tried on at home, but the slight increase in length was denoted by the fact that the dress pulled up on her left thigh, nearly all the way to her hip, leaving one leg embarrassingly bare. But that was modest in comparison to the diamond-shaped cut out on her midsection, baring most of her stomach, barely drawn together before the v-neck plunged between her breasts. She was amazed to say that this dress covered even less flesh than the other dress had, and embarrassed to admit that she liked it. Blinking, she shook her head...she hadn't shown off this much skin since her days traveling with Avalanche. What on earth was Cloud thinking?

"Hey, you done in there yet? Come on, let's see." Cloud knocked on the door, and Tifa's heartrate increased. She didn't want Cloud and Marlene and Denzel to see her in this!

"It...it doesn't fit right. Throw the next one over the top." She finally called back, her voice a bit more nervous than she might have liked. Cloud must have grabbed the wrong dress, or just seen one and grabbed it. He couldn't have picked this one out.

"Marlene's out picking a new one, and Denzel's helping her." From the proximity of his voice, it sounded like he was leaning against the wall right next to the changing room door. A shiver ran up Tifa's spine as she realized they were alone, with just the thin wooden door to keep him from seeing her in the tiny little dress.

"Umm...okay, I'll wait, then." She replied after what seemed like an eternity.

"...'Kay." Cloud replied, quietly, and Tifa could almost swear she heard him exhale loudly, but she wasn't sure. He couldn't have given her this dress on purpose...he knew what she was shopping for, right?

"This one!" Marlene's bouncy voice erupted from the other side, right before Tifa was hit in the face with a bundle of burgundy chiffon, and she laughed. Every dress Marlene chose seemed to be some shade of pink or red...she smiled sadly, remembering the last person she'd seen wear this color of dress. She pulled the black dress off gratefully, and slipped the looser burgundy dress on over her head. It was pleasantly slinky, clinging in all the right places, with a v-neck and a halter that tied behind her head, the ends hanging down to her waist. The hemline was asymmetrical, the fabric cascading diagonally from one side to the other, creating an interesting contrast, and as Tifa looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but remember how long it had been since she'd worn red. Years, now. Not since...her eyes fell on the pink ribbon, still tied around her bicep. It was out of respect, but looking into the mirror, she thought that it would probably make Aeris smile, to see Tifa wearing her trademark color. Unlocking the door, she took a deep breath and stepped out of the changing room to see what the others thought.

"You look great, Tifa." Denzel was the first to speak, although Marlene was right on his tail.

"Yeah, you're so pretty! You should definitely, definitely get that one!" She nodded vigorously at that, as though she hadn't said that about every dress she'd picked up today. Tifa smiled, and found her eyes traveling over to Cloud, who'd moved further from the door than he'd been earlier.

He was silent for a moment longer, an unfathomable look in his eyes as his eyes pawed her like a cat with a scratching post, until their eyes finally met, and Cloud shrugged. "You look nice."

"This one it is, then." She said quietly, a sudden hotness in her cheeks from those three simple words, and she fled back into the changing room, the heat remaining even as she buttoned her jeans and pulled her wife-beater on over her head. She spared a glance for the scant black fabric draped over the room's chair, before she grabbed the burgundy dress and walked out to the counter, urging Cloud to take the kids to the ice cream shop, already, and she'd meet them there after she'd paid.

Later on, the saleswoman would be pleased to find she had nothing to clean out of the fitting rooms.

* * *

A/N: I am a visual person. I really like pictures. As such, I do have pictures of all the dresses described here, but I can't post links to them here.

If you PM me or review indicating that you'd like to see them, I'll get you the links, via PM or email or whatever.

Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: -insert witty comment about how FFVII could not possibly belong to me here-

Chapter 5:

Nervously, Tifa applied another layer of lipstick, only to wipe it off with a kleenex a moment later. Too dark and she'd look like a harlot. But not enough and she'd look like she didn't even care. She sighed, frustrated, and went back to worrying over her hair. She had it down, with just the ends curled, but would it be better to wear it up? She supposed fretting wasn't going to get her anywhere, and started digging through her make-up bag -tiny as it was- for her clear lip gloss. Rubbing her lips together, she smiled...that was a bit more natural. She didn't want to look like she was trying _too _hard, now. She checked the clock again, trying to calm herself down. God, she was acting like a high schooler! Granted, she hadn't had a real date since her high school days, but still! She couldn't tell if she was anxious or excited, but by the way she kept randomly smiling, she'd go with excited...with a hint of anxiety for flavor.

She was just putting her heels on when she heard the doorbell ring downstairs, and she swore, looking to the clock. 7:55...he was early! She nearly ran to her bedroom door, but stopped herself, deciding that she had better look composed, if nothing else...although she'd realize that didn't really matter when she pulled the door open.

"-sorry, no one by that name lives here. You must have the wrong address." Cloud's voice floated up the stairs, and she relaxed a little, wondering who it was as she started down the stairs.

"Oh, really? But she said she lived over top of this bar, Seventh Heaven, and this is the only place that looks like what she described..." Tifa blinked, pausing on the stairs to listen to that voice. That familiar voice.

"Maybe she gave you the wrong address on purpose, I don't know. I just know that what you're looking for isn't here." White hot rage flooded through her whole body as she reached the lower floor and came in view of the side door, where she could see Cloud's back, blocking the way into the house, and beyond him, she could just barely make out Calden, trying to look past him. Marlene and Denzel were poking their heads around the corner of the stairwell, presumably having been upstairs, and she heard the footsteps of the teenaged babysitter she'd hired from somewhere upstairs. Cloud wasn't even supposed to be here, and yet, there he was, trying to chase her date away.

"Cloud." Her voice was low, dangerous, and hardly above a hiss, but Cloud heard it, and looked back over his shoulder towards her, inadvertently moving his head out of the way of the very man he was trying to block, so he could see Tifa there as well.

"So...you do live here, then." He seemed relieved, and Tifa's cheeks flooded red as she came closer to the two men, Cloud now stepping back to let Calden into the house. She glared at Cloud, then smiled at Calden.

"Yes, I'm sorry about the misunderstanding. Cloud has a problem with understanding people, a kind of communication disorder." She explained away, then looked at Cloud, forcing a smile. "Do you think you could excuse us for a moment, Calden? I need to have a word with Cloud in private." She smiled apologetically, then turned around and led the way into the kitchen, not even turning back to make sure he followed...he'd better, if he knew what was good for him.

When she turned around inside the kitchen, Cloud was just closing the door behind him, looking at her defiantly. Of course he was going to be difficult. "What the hell was that?" She hissed, hands turning to fists at her sides.

"Like you said, it was a misunderstanding...I thought he said something else. Are you sure he even knows your name? Didn't sound like it." Tifa folded her arms over her chest, she could tell from the way she kept looking away, off to the side, that he was lying. And he knew she knew it.

"Like hell. Your ears work fine, and he knows my name." When he didn't say anything else, Tifa decided she ought to just continue. "Look, I know you and Barrett feel some misguided need to protect me from the men of the world, but this is taking it too far. I don't care if you hate him, who I date is my decision, and you can't just prevent me from seeing someone because you think I can't take care of myself. I'm perfectly capable of-"

"I never said you weren't." He interrupted,clearly bored of her rambling. Tifa looked at him in confusion.

"Why, then? If this isn't some stupid protective thing, what is it? Do you just have some compelling urge to prevent me from being happy? Because what, you can't be contented in wallowing in your own misery unless someone else is sharing it? What is it Cloud? Tell me!" She was angry, and confused, and he just kept looking at her with those defiant mako eyes of his, and it was making her crazy! She was about to add more to her rant about how he had communications issues and if he'd just open up she could try and help him, when suddenly he was right in front of her, with that stupid impossible speed he'd been using lately, and her body was being crushed against his, and his lips were on hers, and his hands were tangling in her hair, and all she could think of was her stupid, stupid dreams, and her hands moved without her consent, locking around his neck, and her lips opened and her eyes closed, and she rose onto her toes to bring herself closer to him, until her mind took over again and she shoved Cloud back, panting. After staring at him with incredulous eyes, she brought her right hand back, and slapped him so hard his head audibly snapped to the left, leaving a red mark on both his face and her hand. He stayed like that, unmoving, staring at the floor, and without another word, Tifa brushed by him, trying to fix her hair as she made her way back to the door, pausing in front of it to rub her lips together, hoping her lipstick wasn't noticeably smudged(even though she was sure Cloud was wearing a good portion of it by now) and tug her dress back into place, before she opened the door and stepped back into the entrance hall, smiling to find that Marlene and Denzel were talking to Calden now, stern looks on their little faces.

"-and you'd better have her home by eleven!" Marlene finished, and Denzel nodded. Calden looked at the two of them in disbelief, a smile on his face, and he nodded solemnly.

"Not that either of you will be up at that time, since bedtime is at nine, and you're not going to give the babysitter any trouble, right?" Marlene spun around in surprise, and nodded profusely. Denzel frowned.

"But you're going out, why can't we stay up just until you get home? It's not-"

"Fair, I know. But you have school in the morning, and I don't. Be good, now, and I'll get you guys a treat after school tomorrow." She smiled, and hugged Marlene and kissed the top of Denzel's head before she looked up to Calden. "Sorry about all that, shall we go?"

Calden smiled. "Certainly."

Taking a deep breath, Tifa somehow managed to keep an outward appearance of calm as she walked with Calden, but inside she was a swirling mass of confusion. Back at the house, it hadn't sunk in yet, but now, as she climbed into the passenger's side of Calden's car, she couldn't think of anything but what had happened back at the house. She nodded and smiled at Calden, making brief and positive comments about whatever he was talking about, but she couldn't focus on anything right now.

Because Cloud had kissed her.

And she'd kissed him back.

And she'd hit him really, really hard.

But most of all, she just kept thinking about how Cloud had kissed her.

Suddenly, going on this date wasn't making a lot of sense, and yet, she couldn't even think of the words she'd need to get to it.

"So, Tifa, how would you feel if we were suddenly and inexplicably transformed into a couple of cabbages?"

"Yeah, that's great, Calden." She mumbled, staring out the car window at nothing in particular, thinking about the rough feeling of Cloud's lips against hers. Right up until the car shrieked to a halt, and she was jarred to awareness. "What is it? What's wrong?" She looked around, muscles tensing, half expecting a lizard-monster to suddenly leap out of the shadows and attack. Traveling was bad for your mental health in these parts, she decided, when nothing happened.

"You are. Ever since we left the house, you've been...absent, distracted...it's like you don't even want to be here." Tifa blushed, embarrassed that he'd caught onto exactly what she was feeling, and she shook her head quickly.

"I'm really sorry, it's just that...well, I've had a bit of a...um, stressful day." She sighed, it was fine until five minutes to eight. Damn Cloud and his spikey-hair to hell.

"Does it have anything to do with that blonde guy? Umm...Cloud, was it?" Tifa sighed. Wow, he sure had a way of hitting the nail on the head.

"Well, kind of. But I really don't want to get into it now. Please, let's just go, and I'll be better, I'm sure, once I've unwound a little." She assured him as best as she could, smiling, and with a little hesitation, Calden started the car moving again, and then made polite, yet interesting, conversation until they arrived at the restaurant.

They continued like this until about halfway through appetizers, when Tifa nearly choked on a lettuce leaf as Calden spoke.

"So, you have kids." Tifa grabbed a glass of water, managing to swallow a few gulps before she blinked at Calden in surprise. "Sorry, sorry. I really didn't mean to just throw it at you...but, well, you kinda threw them at me. And I wanted to let you explain on your own, but it's kind of driving me crazy."

Tifa swallowed another gulp of water before replying. "Well...I have kids in the sense that I care about, am responsible for, and am raising Marlene and Denzel, but I'm not their mother, if that's what you're thinking. Marlene is the daughter of a friend of mine, and I look after her while he's away. Denzel on the other hand...well, his family died during the aftermath of the chaos from two years ago, and Cloud found him. He's been with us ever since." She explained, they had too much history to sum it all up in a few sentences, but she supposed that would do.

"And...what about Cloud? I'm sorry, but I really need to know...what is he to you?" Tough questions all over the place. Before tonight, she would have told him Cloud was a close friend, nothing more, without hesitation, but now...

"He's a friend." She answered, sounding certain despite the doubts that lingered still. "He helps me look after the kids, pay the bills...you don't have anything to worry about, Calden." Tifa assured him, but she wasn't entirely certain she wasn't just trying to convince herself. Could she still try to pretend she didn't feel anything for Cloud? She smiled at Calden warmly.

"That's good to know. He was kind of..."

"He's a bit overprotective. We've been through a lot together...grew up together, even!" She smiled through her interruptiong, even though she'd hardly even associated with Cloud when they were kids, it still seemed significant. Calden nodded, and dinner went on more casually. By the time they were finished, Tifa was exhausted, and Calden drove her home.

She leaned back against the door after waving good bye to Calden, and touched her lips softly, thoughtfully. Calden had walked her to her door, and he'd kissed her, but she'd hardly felt it. It was...so ordinary. Nothing like the tidal rush of emotions when Cloud had kissed her earlier. But that could just be because of how angry she'd been at Cloud when he'd kissed her. Maybe she was confusing adrenaline with passion. She shook her head, and dropped her hand, locking the door behind her as she started down the hall. She had almost reached the bottom of the stairs, when she noticed a light at the end of the hall, spilling out from the family room, and she remembered that it was probably the babysitter. She'd completely forgotten!

Digging through her purse for the few twenties she'd placed in there earlier, she entered the room. Only the lamp in the corner was turned on, and she was surprised to see not the babysitter, but Cloud, fast asleep in his favorite arm chair. Looking around, she determined that the babysitter was nowhere in the room, and curiously, she stepped forward to Cloud's chair, and didn't stop until she was right next to him. Slowly, she knelt down next to him, and after checking yet again to make sure they were alone, she brushed a strand of blonde hair from out of his face, her fingertips brushing his smooth skin ever so lightly, the motion sending tingles through her hand, and up her arm, into her chest. Unexpectedly, he moved slightly, and Tifa jumped back as though burned, as his eyes fluttered open slowly.

Sleepy eyes fixed on her, looking unaware of what was going on. "Mmm, morning, Teef." He murmured sleepily.

"Where's the babysitter?" She asked, the first words that popped into her head, and she was glad they weren't embarrassing. Cloud blinked, rubbing his eyes, and Tifa almost smiled, noticing the comparison between him and a sleepy kitten. Then she chased those thoughts away...she hadn't decided whether or not she was mad at him yet, but she was certain she didn't think he was cute. No. Certainly not.

"Oh...yeah. Job got cancelled...so I sent her home." He explained, and once he had, Tifa turned around abruptly and headed for the stairs, afraid of what she might say next if she stayed down here. Cloud seemed to wake up by the time she reached the top of the stairs, because she heard him call up the stairs after her, "hey, Tifa! I need to talk to you." And then his footsteps were on the steps.

"I'm going to bed." She reached her bedroom door by the time he bounded up onto the second floor, and somehow, she managed to ignore the pleading look in his eyes and slammed the door behind her. She sighed, half of her hoping he'd let it go, the other half oddly hopeful that he'd break down the door and make her listen. The latter part of her was disappointed when, a few seconds later, she heard another door down the hall slam shut, and she breathed a sigh of mixed relief and disappointment. At least she'd have til morning to work out how she was feeling, right?

And wouldn't it just figure that tonight, she'd dream of him.

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A/N: WHAT'S THIS?! An update, just the day after the last one?! ABSURDITY! Sheer absurdity, I say!

And yet, here you have it. Go figure, eh?

Review, pleases, it makes me write faster, for srsly.

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I know, it's been a while, but FFVII _still_ doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 6

The next morning found Tifa greeting the dawn in the basement, the rising sun leaking in through a slit of a window near the top of the room as she stretched her tight muscles, only now coming to realize how much she'd let herself slip. She used to train every day, but with everything getting so much more ordinary, she'd let herself get caught up in the routine, and had forgotten to give herself time to work out. Clearly, that was why the spiky-headed jerk had so much ease surprising her lately.

Her sleep last night had been fitful at best, with torrid images of that same jerk in varying states of undress running around behind her eyes, preventing her from getting anything close to a good night's sleep. At some point, she'd just tossed the covers off and decided to make good on her promise to resume her training, so here she was, venting some of her frustrations against the wooden practice dummy she'd set up down here when they'd first moved in.

She was just getting into the motions, her punches and kicks getting steadily faster and surer as the old familiarity came back to her, when she heard the door at the top of the stairs click open. She didn't turn to look, but continued up her barrage and pretended to ignore the padding of feet down the wooden stairs. She ignored them even when she knew they had reached the concrete floor, focusing on the dull thudding noise of flesh against wood until she was breathless, sweat running down her forehead. But still, she didn't turn around, instead picking up her water bottle from its place against the wall, and taking a few deep, much needed gulps. He didn't speak until she'd finished.

"Hey," it was Cloud's voice, of course. Marlene and Denzel would never have been so quiet for so long. "You want a real sparring partner?" That made Tifa turn around, sizing him up critically for a moment, but he didn't appear to be kidding. She refused to smirk, instead, she shrugged, and walked towards the stairs, brushing past him without looking at him again.

"Sure, but we should go outside. There's not a lot of room to move down here." She pointed out, and she could tell without looking that he had nodded and was now following her upstairs, and out into the backyard, which was just now filling with morning sunshine.

They faced one another barefoot in the grass, still damp with morning dew, and Tifa knew she couldn't avoid looking at him anymore, but that was all right now. For the moment, he wasn't Cloud Strife, bane of her romantic existence, but just an enemy. Just another obstacle she had to knock out of the way. She raised her fists, and Cloud raised the wooden practice sword he used for sparring, cocking his head to the side as if to ask if she was ready. In response, she attacked.

They were a good match. He was stronger, mako-enchanced muscles holding up that oversized sword of his, but she had speed, and she was proud to admit, her technique was better. Even so, he caught her more often than she liked, and she knew it was because of her own lackadaisical attitude towards training of late. She'd have to polish her skills up a bit, and then she could show him who was in control.

By the time they'd worn each other out, the sun had risen fully, and despite her breathlessness and the grass stains on her clothes, Tifa realized she was smiling. She did martial arts because she really enjoyed them; so why had she let herself get out of that habit? Looking at Cloud, she could swear she saw a hint of a smirk on his face as well, but he turned away before she could be sure. She didn't know what to make of that, so instead she wiped the sweat off her brow and took a swig from her water bottle, watching as he stowed his practice blade in the same garage where Fenrir waited for him. When he emerged, she lowered the bottle from her lips, screwing the lid back on before she tossed it to him, still half-full.

"Thanks," she said, somewhat awkwardly, as she started back towards the house. "I think I needed that." She added, it had been a long time since she'd had any physical exertion like that. It felt good to use her muscles again.

She gave a quick glance to the clock on the stove as she passed by, noting that she had time for a quick shower before she had to make sure the kids were up. The morning passed by quickly, a blur of getting Marlene's hair brushed and making sure Denzel finished his toast before she hustled the two of them out the door, watching from the step as they headed off down the road, somewhat worried. Denzel had informed her on the third day of school that he didn't need to be walked to school like some kind of baby, and from the tone he'd used, she assumed it had to do with the other kids. She didn't like letting them walk alone, though.

"The school's not far." That was Cloud behind her, but she managed not to jump when he caught her by surprise…again. She turned her head but caught herself before she actually looked at him. Edge was safe now…so why did she still have a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched her two charges, little birds without feathers, really, disappear around the corner? "You want me to follow them? Make sure they make it?" His tone was teasing, but Tifa actually liked the idea.

"Can you do it without them realizing you're there?" She asked, quite serious, and he gave a mocking sigh, rolling his eyes as he walked around in front of her, quirking a cocky eyebrow.

"You can't even tell when I'm right behind you, and you're worried I'm going to get caught by a couple of munchkins?" He teased, not letting her answer before he took off at a run after them, jumping someone's fence to cut through their yard to make up for lost time. Tifa smiled and gave a sigh of relief, wondering how come things suddenly felt so normal. She'd thought for sure Cloud would want to finish that conversation from last night, or would at least be sullen and mopey today, but here he was, acting like nothing had happened at all. Maybe he'd decided it would be easier to just pretend that. Maybe it would be. She decided that she wasn't going to bring it up unless he did.

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A/N: It's been what, three, four years? Yeah, even I didn't think I was coming back. But I was struck with Cloti inspiration, so here you have it. Whatcha think, better or worse than the old stuff?


	7. Chapter 7

It was a quiet night in the bar, and Tifa found herself pushing a damp rag around the counter idly and glancing at the clock more frequently than she'd like. Music floated in the background, and the TV attached to the wall was showing some kind of sporting event that no one really cared about. A couple of burly guys were playing pool, laughing amongst themselves. Her job tonight had pretty much consisted of making sure they had plenty of beer and cocktail peanuts, well, after a couple of jazzed up party girls had come and gone on their way to ladies' night. Sighing softly as she scrubbed at a stain in the counter that she knew would never come out, she wondered if she shouldn't have followed them.

She was grateful when the door swung open, and looked up from the counter with her welcoming, customer service smile, glad to finally have something to do, until she froze solid when she recognized the man coming through the door. A look of panic came into her eyes for a split second, but fortunately, her smile didn't falter as he approached the counter.

"Calden!" She exclaimed, her surprise evident in her voice. "Hey!" She tried to sound enthusiastic, but even to her own ears she just sounded kind of…awkward. The truth was she had hardly given him a thought after their date last night; she'd had other things on her mind.

"Hey," he answered, and Tifa couldn't help but wonder if that was a little awkwardness on his part too? At least she wasn't alone. "You talked about this place a lot last night, I figured I'd come by and check it out. It's…nice."

Tifa chuckled a bit, setting her rag aside and leaning forward on the counter. "Nice? Really?" She glanced around, specifically towards the men playing pool, who had now settled down at one of the tables for an arm wrestling contest. Her bar wasn't really one of the finest establishments around Edge, it had a kind of industrial feel, just like the patrons who frequented the bar.

"Maybe nice isn't the word…but I like it." He settled down on one of the bar stools.

"Well, you can't truly enjoy the Seventh Heaven experience without a drink." She pointed out, straightening up and turning to grab a glass. "What'll it be, cowboy?" It was Calden's turn to laugh at her.

Once they got past that initial awkwardness, Tifa was glad for the company. Before she knew it, it was just past two and everyone else had stumbled out of the bar, headed home. "You don't have to help, you know." Tifa insisted as she picked up a chair, flipping it upside down to rest on the table.

"'Course I do. S'only polite." He insisted, even though it was clear he'd had a little bit too much to be trying to lift things over his head. She smiled, shaking her head, but her smile turned to a frown when there was a loud crash, clearly audible with the music turned off and the bar silent. She turned to see him pinned under not one, but two of the bar chairs, aware that something was wrong even before she caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye, muscles tensing as she twirled around.

The lighting in the bar was dim with half the lights turned off for close, making the shapes that lingered in the shadows indistinct, but as she tried to focus on them, Tifa had the impression these shapes were not entirely human. Something that had snuck in from the wastes around town? A groan of pain from behind her told her that Calden was still alive, thankfully, but who knew for how much longer if she didn't deal with these things.

With a ghastly shriek, one of them lunged forward, and Tifa dodged to the side, delivering a swift strike with her fist, but when she made contact with the thing, it was so soft that she didn't even really make contact with anything, and it just slithered by. Her hand came away slick, however, and after a few seconds she was aware of an acute burning sensation. She hurriedly rubbed her hand on her jeans to get the viscous liquid off, although a tingling remained in her hands. Avoid skin contact, right.

Twirling to follow the creature as it tumbled behind her, having missed its intended target, she got a better look at it in the light. It was roughly human-shaped, but that was where the resemblance ceased. It was kind of blue in color, and had translucent skin –if you could call it skin—that glistened with wet. The whole thing looked like little more than liquid in a sack, but there were dark portions in each limb, where she supposed the bones must be, to hold the thing upright. It rounded on her, and she noticed that it seemed to be missing parts…fingers, toes, the limbs just seemed to taper off into nothing, and most eerily, it seemed to have no face, or other features. Not even eyes. It didn't even have a mouth, yet it was somehow making that terrible screeching noise again, as it fixed its sightless face on her and lunged again.

She dodged it again, this time running past it to grab the heavy fire extinguisher from behind the bar. Armed, she vaulted over the bar and brought the weapon down on its head, apparently crushing it. But it didn't stop there, reaching out with its arms towards her, and she had to recoil while she took a horizontal swing. She made contact with the arm, but like before when she'd hit it, the fire extinguisher just seemed to slide off it, and she threw it down, lifting herself up onto the bar and sliding back, away from its grasp.

Blunt force was out, which was a shame, since that was her specialty. What would work? She glanced over towards where she'd left Calden, and saw another of the monsters creeping closer to the disoriented man. Crap balls.

Scrambling, she grabbed a knife , slashing at the arm that was reaching for her, surprised when the blade went clean through it and the arm fell to the ground…with a splash? Her eyes widened as the thing in front of her deflated, the liquid running out of it from the hole, turning to steam even as she watched, horrified. Immediately realizing what she had to do, she threw her knife towards the thing that seemed about to engulf Calden…only to have it hit the thing handle first, bouncing off harmlessly. Tifa didn't know the first thing about throwing knives.

She was still scrambling for a second knife when she heard something on the stairs, and her eyes widened; had one gotten to the door that led to the apartment she shared with Cloud and the kids? Her worries were appeased when Cloud appeared in the doorway, his hair mussed as though he'd just rolled out of bed, but to her great relief, carrying one of his patented blades. He looked confused in the doorway, so Tifa pointed to the thing advancing on Calden.

"Stab it!" She ordered, and without hesitation, Cloud rushed forward, impaling the creature and watching with a look that was a mixture of fascination and horror as it burst, and then seemed to evaporate. Tifa sighed, looking around the bar for further enemies, but when she found none, she breathed a sigh of relief. There weren't even any bodies…which was very, very odd. "Thanks." She looked at Cloud, who was looking at her with about as much confusion as she felt.

"What was that about?" He asked, glancing towards Calden's inert form as though wondering if he should stab him, too. Tifa hurried around the bar to check on him.

"No idea…those things just showed up while we were cleaning up." She hefted the chairs off of him haphazardly. "Could you get the lights?" Once they were illuminated, she could see that the thing had definitely gotten a hold of him, parts of his face, neck and arms were slick, and turning red as though it was burning. She used her sleeve to wipe as much of it off as she could, before she went back to the bar and grabbed her dish rag, getting the rest off. Calden was out cold, but he was still breathing, which was a good thing. Once she was confident he wasn't going to melt before they got him to the hospital, she turned to Cloud, who had gone to a window, still clutching his sword and looking alert. When he turned to look at her, his eyes went down, and he frowned.

"What happened to your jeans?" She looked down, and only now noticed that the fabric had burned away not just the pieces of fabric she had wiped her hand on, but had burned through almost the entire thigh portion of her right leg. So it wasn't just corrosive to human flesh.

She turned when she heard a hissing noise, followed by a loud bang. She remembered pain, stabbing in her leg, but then she fell and things went oddly white, before the world faded into darkness. She almost thought she could hear someone yelling her name.

Her head was throbbing when she woke up, in a place that was decidedly not her own room. The first thing she noticed were the lights, bright, florescent, and the room was totally white. _Hospital_. Her mind immediately told her, and she lifted a hand to her head, trying to remember how she'd gotten here. She was surprised when her fingers brushed against cloth…no, not cloth. Bandages. She didn't remember hitting her head, though she could remember…she looked down, lifting the thin sheet with one hand, and sure enough there was another set of bandages wrapped tightly around her thigh, protruding out just beneath her crisp hospital gown.

"Tifa!" She dropped the sheet when she heard Marlene's voice, a smile just reaching her face before the little girl propelled herself to her side, all but throwing herself onto the bed to wrap her arms around the woman. "We were so worried about you!"

"It's okay, I'm all right…" Tifa assured her, wrapping her arms around Marlene and stroking her hair affectionately. Behind her, Denzel approached, slightly more reserved but still appearing happy that Tifa was awake. Tifa smiled at him, then turned to her other side as Cloud seemed to just materialize there, but she realized he must've just walked. She must be slightly out of it still. "What happened? Did more of those…things show up?

"Nah, but if I may give a word of advice? Don't use fire extinguishers as weapons." He suggested, sitting down in a chair next to the bed. Marlene had already curled up on Tifa's side, although Denzel had similarly found a chair.

"My head hurts too much for riddles, Cloud." She responded, she didn't want to try and piece things together now.

"The monsters didn't come back, but the fire extinguisher blew up. A piece got lodged in your leg, and you head your head on a table when you fell." Her brow furrowed. So they beat the bad guys and she got taken down by a fire extinguisher and a table? She was never going to live that down. "Not your most impressive victory, I'll admit." It was almost like he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"What about Calden? Is he all right?" Cloud had clearly escaped unscathed, but she didn't see the other man anywhere. Cloud didn't seem particularly pleased by her inquiry.

"Yeah, he's fine. Doctors say he has minor burns, and he hit his head, too, but he woke up sometime this morning. They were more worried about the amount of blood you lost." She breathed a sigh of relief, then tensed up again.

"All right, give it to me straight…how bad is it?"

"Your leg? The doctors said you should be through the wors-"

"No, not my leg! I've had way worse than this little scratch and you know it. My bar! With those things, and an exploding fire extinguisher, and now blood stains to worry about! How bad is my bar?" Cloud stared at her for a minute…then two…then started laughing. Marlene and Denzel joined in. Tifa just frowned.

"I'm serious!" She protested, but they just kept laughing. Oh, her poor bar….

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A/N: Finally something exciting! Let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: OMG I forgot this on my last chapter! Will the vultures of copyright descend upon me? I highly doubt it. As always, nope, don't own anything, fanwork, not making a profit here.

Chapter 8

"We really need to make this place more accessible to the disabled." Tifa pointed out as Cloud carried her up the stairs to the bar. "I think this might be a health code violation or something…" She could walk okay, as long as she used a cane, but the doctor had said she wasn't supposed to exert herself, so when Cloud had offered to carry her, she'd accepted.

"Who needs ramps when you have me?" He didn't seem to have any trouble managing her and the stairs, and she shrugged.

"It would be a new dimension for Strife Delivery Service." She teased. "But somehow I don't imagine all my customers would enjoy being your damsel in distress." They had reached the top of the stairs, but he didn't bother putting her down, instead carrying her through the bar to their apartment.

"Why wouldn't they? You like it just fine."

"Yeah, but I'm a sucker for a pretty face." Cloud scrunched up his pretty face at that, giving her a dirty look.

"I'm not pretty." He said flatly.

"Are you kidding? You're like, the prettiest person I know. You're prettier than I am!" She told him, smiling, teasing him, but it was true. "Remember Don Corneo? He chose y-"

"TIFA." He said in a warning tone as they approached her bedroom, but Tifa just chuckled before she continued,

"-you over me, and Aeris! And your disguise wasn't even that good!" Seeing Cloud turn up in a dress at the Don's place had probably been one of the best moments in Tifa's life. He'd made a very convincing woman, despite what she said about his disguise.

"You don't even know the things I had to do for that get-up." Tifa blinked, she never did ask about that. She figured he just paid for it. He set her down on the bed, and she looked up into his eyes.

"Surely it can't have been anything worse than wearing it?" She asked, genuinely curious, but at that Cloud seemed to realize that he'd said too much, and he turned to leave. Was he blushing? She reached out for his hand, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him back. "Now you HAVE to tell me! Cloud Strife!"

"I don't have to tell you anything. I only did it to save you from the creep!" Now he was pouting. Tifa bit her lip to keep from laughing, but refused to relinquish her hold on his hand.

"Aw, poor Cloudy." She patted the back of his hand. She hadn't really been in need of saving at the time; Don Corneo was a creep, but she could've handled him, or else she wouldn't have gone in on her own in the first place. But Cloud didn't know that, and he'd rushed in to save her anyways. "I'm sure the Don was really just a closet homosexual, and that's why he chose you." That seemed to placate him, and he sat down next to her on the bed.

"It was all her idea, you know." He admitted, and Tifa knew just who he meant. "Aeris." He murmured her name anyways, and a bittersweet smile came to Tifa's lips. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze that he returned.

"I figured you wouldn't come up with that on your own. I bet she bullied you into it, too." She teased. "I bet you just wanted to break down the door, buster sword in hand and tear the place up."

"I could have. I was just worried you guys might get hurt if I did it that way." He answered, still a little defensive. "I couldn't believe it when he chose me…especially after I saw you in that dress." He grinned, and Tifa laughed a bit.

"Well, I did work pretty hard getting myself dolled up, you know. I wore heels and everything."

"Yeah, I remember." He said with some relish, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "You got pretty dolled up the other night, too."

"Well, it was a date…" she pointed out, her expression falling a bit, she brushed her hair back behind her ear as she wondered where he was going with this.

"And he came to the bar to see you." Tifa nodded, not sure what else to say. "He didn't leave at close."

"He was just helping me close up." She told him, suddenly aware that she was still hanging onto Cloud's hand.

"And then he was going to go home?" Yes, he was going to, she almost answered, but she didn't like this, this being interrogated.

"Maybe." He was looking right at her now, and his expression darkened and he frowned at her. "Why did you kiss me?" He rose an eyebrow, then scoffed, pulling his hand free of hers.

"Isn't it obvious?" He stood up, and Tifa frowned.

"It isn't! It is not obvious, Cloud! Not to me!" She protested, and he turned back towards her, a pained expression on his face. "Why?" She insisted again, getting to her feet because she didn't like having him so far above her, holding her weight a little awkwardly on her good leg.

"Because…I didn't want some other guy to kiss you." Tifa's eyes narrowed, so he just didn't want her to be happy? He must've noticed her expression, because he rolled his eyes again, scoffing. "Not like that. I don't want you to date other people because I want you to be with me."

Tifa watched his expression while he spoke, and he didn't look away. He wasn't lying. "I didn't think you felt that way about me."

"Come on, I've been in love with you since we were seven." He rolled his eyes at her, and she was confused. "You never noticed me, but I noticed you. Everyone did, it was impossible not to." She had been popular…but Cloud always just acted like he hated everyone. "Why do you think I made you come up to the water tower that night? Made you that promise?"

Tifa looked down and smiled. He promised to come back and save her if she needed him. Be her knight in shining armor, her hero. Her very own SOLDIER. That was the first time she really noticed Cloud. "I thought you were in love with Aeris." She looked up, her smile faltering.

"It was never like that with us…she was in love with somebody else, too." He explained with a shrug. "Besides, even if I did, you were right. I don't want a memory instead of you." During their time with Avalanche, Tifa had developed such strong feelings for him, but everything was so cluttered, with saving the world and all. When things had calmed down, he went on the road, and while she waited for him to sort things out, she'd come to realize that he might never get over Aeris. Even if he did…what was to say that he would ever return her feelings?

Two months ago, she'd thought things might finally change, after he seemed to come to terms with what had happened with Aeris. He finally seemed to be moving on, but then he'd left again. And Tifa had gotten on with her life. She didn't want to spend another two years pining for a man who didn't want her. "Why did you leave?" She asked quietly, her eyes imploring. "I asked you to choose between us and a memory. You said us…and then you left again."

Cloud stared at her for a moment before he answered. "I had some things to finish up. It took longer than I thought. But Tifa…I'm not leaving again. The whole time I was gone, I just kept thinking about you and the kids. About being a family…a proper family, finally."

Tifa stared up at him for a moment uncertainly. "You can't leave again. Not for very long, at least. Take jobs in and around Edge. And when you're gone you have to answer your phone! Every time." A smile started to form on his lips, and he moved closer. "Hey! None of that, either. You want a proper family, you have to do it properly. You can take me out on a date. No more stealing kisses!" Cloud chuckled, shaking his head, and took a step backwards, to show his compliance to her terms.

"No more kissing other guys, too." He added his own terms to her list, and she nodded in agreement. Calden couldn't even hold his liquor, after all.

"We shouldn't tell the kids yet. In case it doesn't work out, I don't want to get their hopes up."

Cloud shook his head slowly, but he was still smiling. "Already planning for failure? All right, we'll do it your way, but you don't have to worry so much. This is gonna work." Tifa smiled a little bit at his confidence, she wanted to believe him. "Aren't you usually the optimistic one? Have a little faith."

"I always have faith in you, Cloud."

Cloud wanted to go out that very night –it wasn't like she was going to be opening the bar, after all—but Tifa insisted that she still felt kind of lightheaded from the blood loss. She'd gone home against the doctor's orders, they'd wanted her to stay another day for 'observation', but she didn't like the idea of being watched like a guinea pig. Besides, it was true she'd had worse injuries…the doctors had all been very impressed by the long, jagged scar that stretched from just beneath her navel to nearly the top of her shoulder, from where Sephiroth had nearly run her through all those years ago. She'd survived that, she could handle this.

Instead, she spent a quiet night curled up on the couch with Denzel under one arm, watching an old horror movie on TV while Cloud and Marlene flicked through a motorcycle magazine, picking out the bits they were going to use to build her dream bike once she was old enough.

Things were peaceful, aside from Tifa's occasional yelps when something jumped out onscreen, or Denzel's complaints when Tifa clamped her hand over his eyes at what he deemed 'the best parts'. Until there was the loud bang of the door crashing open from downstairs, and Cloud was immediately on his feet, grabbing the sword he'd elected to keep close by in case anything else showed up. Tifa was up nearly as fast, before she was reminded by the shooting pains up and down her leg that she wasn't necessarily at her best. She clutched the couch for support, refusing to sit down when there was potential danger afoot.

She needn't have worried.

"WHAT THE $%&% HAPPENED HERE? SPIIIIKEY!" The booming voice echoed through the apartment, and before Cloud even had a chance to lower his sword, Marlene had jumped up in delight.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed, rushing down the hallway with no small amount of enthusiasm. Cloud put down his weapon before he followed, and by the time Tifa had grabbed her cane, they had already made their way into the living room, Marlene perched up on Barrett's wide shoulders.

"Tifa! What happened dow-wwwwWHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LEG, WOMAN?" She looked down, and the shorts she was wearing did nothing to cover up the thick bandages covering her thigh.

"Same thing as happened downstairs. We got attacked by these strange creatures…they must've wandered up from the depths of the ruins, or the wastelands, or something." She shrugged, they weren't really sure where the creatures had come from, but at least now they knew what to do about them. "I'm fine, really!"

"SPIKEY, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? You're supposed to be protectin' her, dammit man!" Cloud was probably lucky Barrett was using his only hand to hold Marlene up on his shoulders, or he'd probably have gotten hit.

"It wasn't his fault, and I've told you before, I don't need protecting." She reasoned, sitting back down on the couch. Barrett took a seat in an armchair, and Cloud perched on the arm of the couch next to Tifa. Once they'd finished reassuring Barrett things were fine, he told them about his latest surveys. Tifa didn't realize how late it was getting until she felt Denzel drooping against her arm.

"Oh, Barrett…we moved Denzel into your old room, when you said you were going to be gone a while longer." Tifa frowned, Denzel and Marlene used to share a room, but once he'd recovered from his geostigma, they'd thought it might be good to let the kids have their own space.

"No worries, Teef. Barrett can have my room, I'll just sleep with you." Cloud grinned, winking at her, and she rolled her eyes, very much aware from the explosion of rage that followed that he was only doing it to wind Barrett up. He was still pretty protective of Tifa.

Once Barrett had stopped yelling and trying to throw Cloud out a window, Tifa decided to clear things up. "I'll sleep in Marlene's room, Barrett can have mine until we can move things around." That seemed to satisfy everyone, with Marlene going on about how it would be just like a slumber party! Tifa wondered if she'd be able to escape without getting her nails painted florescent pink.

She brushed her teeth and was just on her way to the little girl's bedroom when she noticed Cloud was leaning in the doorway to his own room, watching her go by. She paused in front of him, wondering what he was up to. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "you know, if she wiggles around too much, you can always come join me." She gave him a stern look before she continued on into Marlene's room.

Marlene had slept with Tifa before, although usually, it was when the little girl was scared or lonely, and usually, they were in Tifa's larger bed. Tonight, Marlene just seemed to psyched up to go to sleep, what with her dad coming home, and her 'slumber party', she just kept chattering on.

"Marlene…you need to go to sleep. You have school in the morning, sweetie." Tifa reminded her, but even once she was fast asleep, she kept kicking her little feet around, like she was still playing in her dreams. After a kick that nearly connected with her injury, Tifa decided to cut her losses and go sleep on the couch. Quietly, she slipped out of bed and headed down the hall…only to pause outside Cloud's open door. She bit her lip, fighting back the temptation...and losing.

Silently, she closed the door behind her, then blinked to adjust to the darkness. The window was open, so a bit of streetlight trickled in, enough for her to make out the shape of Cloud's bed, and Cloud sprawled out on top of it. She hoped he'd be better company than Marlene had been, leaning over the bed and then poking him in the shoulder. "Cloud?" She whispered, tilting her head to the side. He opened his eyes slowly, smiled stupidly, then reached out to pull her down to him. She lost her balance and fell on top of him, but he hardly seemed to mind, flipping her over onto her back, he kissed her. She turned her head away, pushing on his shoulder. "I said no more stealing kisses!" She hissed, although her voice lacked any real fury. Cloud blinked, seemingly confused, before he clued in.

"You mean this is real?" He leaned back, giving her some room to breathe, as he seemed to wake up. "I thought I was dreaming." Then he grinned. "So you couldn't resist, huh?" Tifa pushed his forehead back, but he was still grinning.

"Shut up. We're only going to sleep!" She insisted, and Cloud nodded, but he was still grinning like an idiot.

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A/N: Okay, so I have a...loose idea of where this is going, but for the most part, it's just gratuitous Cloti. I haven't played FFVII for a long time here...did I get everything all right?


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah I do not own FFVII and I'm not making a profit blah blah blah etc.

Chapter 9

Tifa woke slowly to the sound of someone stomping around out in the hallway, blinking slowly against the morning sunshine flowing freely across her face. She turned her head to the side, smiling faintly when she saw Cloud there. She could live with that. She could wake up next to that face every morning. He was still asleep, lying on his side next to her, one arm draped over her waist innocuously. She watched him, her eyes tracing the too-pretty lines of his face, noticing the way the pillow crushed the spikes of his hair and wondering if he would have to put them back in place or if they'd just spring into place naturally. She'd always suspected he woke earlier than everyone else on their journey so that he could fix his hair without anyone seeing, but she'd never been able to prove it.

She didn't know how long she'd been staring at him for, but the sound of heavy boots had long ago faded down the stairs when Cloud started to wake, and once she noticed his pretty blue eyes flickering open, she snapped her own shut, pretending to be asleep next to him. But she must not have been quick enough.

"What're you doing, Lockhart?" His voice was still kind of groggy, thick with sleep, but there was a lilting tone there.

"Sleeping." She answered readily, keeping her eyes closed. Cloud snorted with what sounded like derision, tightening his hold around her waist to pull her closer to him, so they were pressed up together. Tifa giggled involuntarily, then bit her lip, keeping her eyes closed. If Cloud wanted to say anything more, he was interrupted by the sound of boots returning up the stairs, followed by shouting.

"YO! SPIKEY! WE CAN'T FIND TIFA ANYWHERE!" Tifa sighed, couldn't they just assume she'd gone out without starting a manhunt? It was still early…

"IT'S ALL RIGHT, SHE'S-" Tifa's eyes opened when Cloud started yelling back, and she practically tackled him in her effort to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep him from saying anything more. The last thing she needed was for Barrett to spend the morning yelling and hollering. She propped herself up on one arm and held the other hand over Cloud's mouth, pretty much lying directly on top of him to maintain her leverage. He gave her a look like she was crazy.

"Don't tell him I'm in here!" She whispered, as if that should be obvious, but the point became moot when the door burst open.

"What were you sayin'?" Barrett demanded, before he registered the sight of Tifa pinning Cloud down and his head pretty much exploded. After he had retreated to a safe distance, from where he could yell without being treated to the sight of Tifa in bed with a half-clothed Cloud, Tifa sat back, letting Cloud up. He was chuckling with some amusement.

"I was going to say, she's probably gone for a run. But I guess your way works too." He teased, and Tifa groaned, flopping face first down into the pillow and pulling the blankets over her head while Cloud continued to laugh at her.

Tifa managed a quick shower, ignoring Cloud's offers to assist if necessary, and pulled her damp hair up into a ponytail, re-bandaging her leg and pulling on a short skirt and a t-shirt. She limped down the stairs on her own, holding the bannister for support, and found Barrett scrambling eggs while Cloud ate a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table. "Where are Marlene and Denzel?" She asked, filling the coffee pot with water and setting it to brew.

"Already saw 'em off to school, woman. You overslept." Tifa frowned at Barrett's answer, she never overslept. "Your damn alarm woke me up, but I couldn't find you-" he turned to point the spatula at her like a weapon, and Tifa shot Cloud a look that was more like a plea for help, to which his shoulders shook with silent laughter, before he shook his head and dropped his gaze down to his cereal. "-because you were not where you were supposed to be."

Tifa fidgeted a little awkwardly…well that was one way to put it. "Marlene kicks in her sleep." She supplied quite reasonably, playing with the settings on the coffee machine to avoid having to look down Barrett's spatula and at the big, burly man's face.

"And he don't?" Tifa bit her lip to hold back giggles, and turned to look at Cloud, who also seemed to be fighting to hold in laughter. It was a struggle to maintain a straight face as she answered.

"No, he does not. His hands do tend to wander a bit, though." She fought against her smile as she turned her gaze accusingly towards Cloud, who shrugged.

"I can't help what my subconscious gets up to while I'm sleeping." Tifa might have answered, but Barrett threw up his hands in defeat.

"I do not need to hear this!" He exclaimed, and having escaped his interrogation, Tifa smiled and slid into a seat at the kitchen table, clutching her mug of freshly brewed coffee.

"You're in a good mood today." Cloud said, a little too smugly.

"Only because I got to sleep in. That never happens." She sipped her coffee to hide her smile briefly.

Once Barrett finished with the eggs, he scooped about a quarter of them onto a plate, along with a slice of toast, and hunkered them down in front of Tifa. She smiled in thanks. "So…how long has this-" he used his fork to point back and forth between Cloud and Tifa, "-been goin' on? Do I need to worry?"

Tifa laughed. "Since yesterday. And why would you worry?" She asked in return, as she started eating her eggs.

"Y'know, in case this guy hurts you or somethin'…" Tifa rolled her eyes.

"What if I hurt him?"

"He probably had it comin'." Tifa laughed out loud at that. Cloud glared at both of them.

"Don't worry about it, Barrett. Cloud has assured me that this is going to work." She popped a bit of toast into her mouth, raising an eyebrow at Cloud as if daring him to argue. He smiled and finished his cereal.

"And if it doesn't, I'll take over the surveys and you can stay here with Teef and the kids." He told him, but Tifa couldn't tell if he was joking or not. She hadn't thought about the possibility of losing Cloud altogether if this didn't work out, but she supposed it made sense…even if it was completely terrifying. She sipped her coffee to cover her suddenly absent smile while Cloud cleaned up the kitchen.

"You want to come grocery shopping with me?" Tifa asked after Barrett left to meet with some folks from an oil and gas company, poking into the fridge to find it very much depleted, doubtless because it had been over a week since her shopping trip.

"You're only asking because you can't walk and carry things at the same time, aren't you?" Cloud teased, and Tifa looked up at the ceiling, and smiled somewhat guiltily.

"Is that a no?" She asked innocently, closing the fridge and flipping her hair back over her shoulder as she turned towards him.

"You know, considering that you're the one who wanted to do things 'properly', you're kind of skipping all the normal milestones, Teef." He was drying his hands on a tea towel as he spoke. "Sneaking into my bed before our first date, roping me into boring household tasks before sex, you're pushing boundaries here."

"I was a terrorist you know. I laugh in the face of boundaries." She smiled, leaning back against the counter, and Cloud walked over to stand in front of her, putting his hands on the counter on either side of her. "No more stealing kisses!" She reminded him, and he groaned, letting his head droop. Tifa giggled as his hair tickled her cheek, blushing when she felt his breath hot against her neck, becoming very aware of his proximity even though he was careful not to touch her skin. Her heart started to race, and tentatively, she reached a hand up, clutching the hem of his shirt tightly.

Cloud lifted his head, looking her in the eye quizzically as she lifted her other hand to his abs, running her finger tips up the hard angles of his body. "Tifa…" She smiled a little mischievously at the pained look in his eyes.

"But...it's not really stealing if I give it to you." She amended as her hand reached his shoulder, and she held him for support so she could lean forward and press her lips to his, her hand twisting in the fabric of his shirt. Cloud's eyes lit up at her words, and as soon as their lips touched it was like he was released from an invisible leash, his hands leaving the counter to find her waist so he could lift her onto the counter. Sliding his hand down her thigh, he guided her leg to wrap around his torso, and Tifa turned her head to the side to take a deep breath. "Cloud," she murmured as she ran her fingers back through his hair. It was softer than she thought it'd be.

Just like the night before, Cloud's hand wandered underneath her shirt, and just like the night before, Tifa found herself pleased enough by his touch that she didn't feel the need to remove it. Instead, she tangled her fist in his shirt, guiding his head back towards her so she could keep on kissing him, and she used her leg to pull him closer, letting her bare foot trail across his back. Cloud didn't seem to mind, responding eagerly to her guidance, seeming more than pleased with this turn of events.

Tifa lost track of time while they were twined around one another, but eventually she recovered her senses enough to push Cloud away. "We still need groceries."

"We can go hungry for a while." He said, almost managing to sound completely rational and reasonable to Tifa's enflamed hormones, leaning in to kiss her neck enticingly before she pushed him back again.

"Clo-oud…" She groaned plaintively, and he gave a long suffering sigh, hanging his head, and giving her shoulder one last nip before he pulled back, running a hand back through his hair. Without him wrapped around her, Tifa felt suddenly cold as she slipped down off the kitchen counter, but she was smiling.

"Just…give me five minutes, all right?" He told her, turning away and heading for the bathroom.

"What, you have to fix your hair?" Tifa called after him teasingly, to which he reached up to check his spikey locks, then looked back over his shoulder to shoot her a glare.

"Make that ten minutes." She just giggled at his glare, and busied herself with checking the cupboards and making a mental list of everything they'd need to buy.

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A/N: I wanted to make this longer, but it's been a few days now since I last updated and I didn't want to get out of the habit. So here you have it, enjoy! Review if it pleases you. ^^


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